My iPhone Story

[aenti]

Could be possibly the most heartwrenching day of my life.
I will update this thread later, I have to go to class, and I will type it there.

Today really sucked.:angry:

[psylichon]

Aw man, I'm really sorry to hear that. Till later...

[kisstine]

:( Sorry you had a rough day.. guess we'll see what happened later.

[SikShift]

Uh oh...hope everything turns out ok bro

[cdelauz]

Hmmm, what ever it is, sorry to hra man, doesnt sound to good.

[yuuphone]

Anybody care to guess what happened?

I guess he went to the Apple store, 2nd in line and eager to buy his new iPhone 3G 8GB. Everything went according to plan once the store opened down to the genius swiping his credit card and BOOM!, disaster strikes.


What's in your wallet?*

*Message (that should have been)paid for by CapitolOne

[miggs1310]

if not getting a phone is one of the worst things in his life then I envy this person, he is very lucky...

[Tex]

Leaving us hanging, bro...You have me worried.

[VIPERxGTx2000]

I HATE it when someone calls me and says "I have something important to tell you later" just shutup about it and tell me later why would you have to tell me that your gonna tell me something later??? Now I'm sitting her waiting and guessing what you have to say, damn you! :laugh2:

[smknSRT8]

I HATE it when someone calls me and says "I have something important to tell you later" just shutup about it and tell me later why would you have to tell me that your gonna tell me something later??? Now I'm sitting her waiting and guessing what you have to say, damn you! :laugh2:

I couldn't agree more.

[aenti]

Eh, sorry guys. I had to drive over to my class, I was running late.
And I suppose it really isn't a big deal.

So it's 12 in the morn, and I decide to check Apple to see if they will be getting a shipment. They are, but I figure I will have to go another time, because my primary account holder is my mom. She and I have decided to stick with ATT and try to convince them to keep our old plan.
Well, its about 12 in the afternoon, and I am in the mall. I pass the apple store, and see there is a line of about 3. Just my luck! I call my mom, tell her to drive on down,so that we can pick up our iPhones. I had given up on the hopes of keeping our old plan.
I have been waiting for an iPhone for about an hour. It's 1, I still have work to do, and I need to get my paper done and submitted online before class. (5:30). I finally get it, only to find out no more black 16gigs, only thing left are white 16. Who care? I'm getting an iPhone no matter what today. I go with the white and get ready to activate.
As we are going through the process, the Apple employee reaches an error. He goes back, comes back much later, and tells me to call ATT to uncode this message. As I do so, he opens the box, and lo and behold, there is is this nasty, ugly colored brown mark on the back of the phone. Only remaining one as well.
ATT is no help, and it turns out I have to go to ATT to get my phone, no matter what. Forced to. Even though my precious ("slightly") iPhone is sitting right there.
Damn, so I head over to ATT, and looks like I'm going to have to DF. We are placing an order when he mentions it will take about 2 weeks. I knew that, but oh crap. I'm in BC at that time. Won't be able to pick it up.
Wait! It gets better! ATT's system just decides not to work! So no DF after all! Just plain no iPhone. I wouldn't mind so much had there been no iPhone sitting just 1 foot away from me in the Apple store.
And so here I am. I come home, and I wasn't able to get my final paper completely done. I am going to have to settle for whatever grade I get. Which might bring my A down. And I don't even end up with a fricking iPhone. Yipee.

So you might not feel it wasn't heartwrenching. It might not be to you. The story might not have lived up to whatever you thought. Who cares? I've waited 7 months for this phone. And I've never been so close to getting this dang thing. It's all such a big hassle that is pushing me away from this phone. I'm taking this thing personally because I've waited such a long time for this phone.

One more thing. ATT and Apple need to get their crap together.
ATT doesn't get any shipments because Apple is giving all of it to their stores. Why? B/c apple employees don't get commision, which in turn saves Apple money. The downside? Apple can't handle half the problems of the 3g activation process. ATT can, but they don't get phones. They are losing money. Not that I care, but I do care about the employee who can't support his family because he lives off comission.

Anyways, thats my lame story. Hope you enjoyed.
I was incredibly

[psylichon]

Well it all makes sense now. You are not supposed to have a white iPhone, man!

[ldivinag]

Well it all makes sense now. You are not supposed to have a white iPhone, man!

lol... or an 8gig one...

[aenti]

Well it all makes sense now. You are not supposed to have a white iPhone, man!
Haha, thanks Dave, that cheered me up man.
But seriously. So close, yet so far away.

[aenti]

BTW- What was the site for Direct Fufillment that provided your place in line for ques, etc.?

[Hondamaker]

Dude, with my lack of patience, I woulda been livid after all that!

[kisstine]

Hmm.. wonder how I missed this yesterday.

I'm sure the added layer of frustration and wait time will make it even sweeter when you finally get it. And don't listen to Dave ... you WERE meant to have a white one. :)

[sonicwind]

he opens the box, and lo and behold, there is is this nasty, ugly colored brown mark on the back of the phone.

ATT and Apple need to get their crap together.

I'm just saying.

[morth58]

nothing would suck more than to get that close and walk away empty handed

sorry bud

hope it comes soon

[Amahk]

BTW- What was the site for Direct Fufillment that provided your place in line for ques, etc.?

The site was www.herebethedragons.com (http://www.herebethedragons.com)
On the right you'll see a link to the simple and advanced queue.

I don't think it works anymore though since ATT added that CAPTCHA verification system(the one with an image and you have to type in the letters/numbers seen in the image).

Good luck though

[aenti]

I'm just saying.

HA! Thanks.
Thanks to everyone else too, Ahmak, thanks for the link man.

[HBOC]

That sucks.
I am on a family plan (was) with my brother. He lives in OC (where all my family is) and i am in portland, oregon. You can see where this is going..

So last Wednesday, i decide i am going to be a sucker and pay full retail for the iphone. We've had AT&T for 4 years (Cingular), they have been great, customer service is actually really good, but sometimes you have to be on the phone for an hour or so..anyways,...

So on Wednesday, i get into apple and they are sold out. no biggie. I go to another apple store (they had 6 white 16GB iphones left). I get there and the guy tells me i have to go to AT&T because i am not eligible. Luckily AT&T is around the corner. SO i tell them my number, and they said i am not elilgable for the upgrade, so i would pay full price. It is cheaper than breaking the contract and starting over.

So i wait until Saturday to get the phone. I wanted a black one, and an 8GB. (wish i got a 16GB). So i go down to the downtown apple store on Saturday at 7:30 am. I get in, 8th in line. SO far, so good. This seems to easy. Something is wrong.

I get in, the appple employee sets the phone right down next to me. I dont touch the box. It doesn't seem right. SO he is asking for my info, phone number, soc #, etc. Well, it gets down to billing zipcode. Shiest, it's my brothers account (he is the financial liability, since the bill goes to his house and he just moved). SO i call and call and call, and he finally answers and gives me the zipcode. whew! So he enters it into the computer and he says it cannot authenticicate. F me. He hands me back my iphone 3G card and says it will be held for me until 6pm if i chose to come back.

I then run over to AT&T a few hours later and they tell me that on their systems, i am able to purchase the iphone, but apple doesnt have deep access to accounts, since they are just activating iphones, nothing to do with account info and such for the at&t service.

SO they tell me that I have a few options. A) my brother and i have to get on the phone with customer support to relinquish my account to my own plan (we have been lazy to do this), he can break my contract (i pay the fee), and a few other options.

SO finally after 30 minutes on the phone with customer support, i am able to get my iphone and it is cheaper than i was paying per month before.

sorry this is so long. It seems it is always a hassle for me to get a new phone. Only reason i was on a family plan with my brother is because it saved us money and he got some sort of rebate or something that was 4 years ago.

anyways thanks for reading. this phone is amazing, seriously!

[Amahk]

That sucks.
I am on a family plan (was) with my brother. He lives in OC (where all my family is) and i am in portland, oregon. You can see where this is going..

So last Wednesday, i decide i am going to be a sucker and pay full retail for the iphone. We've had AT&T for 4 years (Cingular), they have been great, customer service is actually really good, but sometimes you have to be on the phone for an hour or so..anyways,...

So on Wednesday, i get into apple and they are sold out. no biggie. I go to another apple store (they had 6 white 16GB iphones left). I get there and the guy tells me i have to go to AT&T because i am not eligible. Luckily AT&T is around the corner. SO i tell them my number, and they said i am not elilgable for the upgrade, so i would pay full price. It is cheaper than breaking the contract and starting over.

So i wait until Saturday to get the phone. I wanted a black one, and an 8GB. (wish i got a 16GB). So i go down to the downtown apple store on Saturday at 7:30 am. I get in, 8th in line. SO far, so good. This seems to easy. Something is wrong.

I get in, the appple employee sets the phone right down next to me. I dont touch the box. It doesn't seem right. SO he is asking for my info, phone number, soc #, etc. Well, it gets down to billing zipcode. Shiest, it's my brothers account (he is the financial liability, since the bill goes to his house and he just moved). SO i call and call and call, and he finally answers and gives me the zipcode. whew! So he enters it into the computer and he says it cannot authenticicate. F me. He hands me back my iphone 3G card and says it will be held for me until 6pm if i chose to come back.

I then run over to AT&T a few hours later and they tell me that on their systems, i am able to purchase the iphone, but apple doesnt have deep access to accounts, since they are just activating iphones, nothing to do with account info and such for the at&t service.

SO they tell me that I have a few options. A) my brother and i have to get on the phone with customer support to relinquish my account to my own plan (we have been lazy to do this), he can break my contract (i pay the fee), and a few other options.

SO finally after 30 minutes on the phone with customer support, i am able to get my iphone and it is cheaper than i was paying per month before.

sorry this is so long. It seems it is always a hassle for me to get a new phone. Only reason i was on a family plan with my brother is because it saved us money and he got some sort of rebate or something that was 4 years ago.

anyways thanks for reading. this phone is amazing, seriously!


Can't believe I actually read all of that... lol j/k
Congrats on getting the phone AND a cheaper monthly bill \o/
Welcome to the fold!

I had my own horror story as well last week so I totally empathize.

[jarofclay73]

As we are going through the process, the Apple employee reaches an error. He goes back, comes back much later, and tells me to call ATT to uncode this message. As I do so, he opens the box, and lo and behold, there is is this nasty, ugly colored brown mark on the back of the phone. Only remaining one as well.
ATT is no help, and it turns out I have to go to ATT to get my phone, no matter what. Forced to. Even though my precious ("slightly") iPhone is sitting right there.

The error code comes up and he asks YOU to call AT&T to figure out the code? That's HORRIBLE customer service.

When I went to Apple to get my 16GB White iPhone 3G, I had a corporate discount on my current AT&T plan. The Apple employee proceeded to call AT&T to have the discount taken off so I can get the iPhone (the price of the iPhone cannot be discounted anyway). I got on the phone just to authorize that I wanted that, then I got my iPhone.

Maybe the difference is that I'm the main person on my AT&T account, but I think that was just BAD customer service on the part of that Apple store.

[aenti]

The error code comes up and he asks YOU to call AT&T to figure out the code? That's HORRIBLE customer service.

When I went to Apple to get my 16GB White iPhone 3G, I had a corporate discount on my current AT&T plan. The Apple employee proceeded to call AT&T to have the discount taken off so I can get the iPhone (the price of the iPhone cannot be discounted anyway). I got on the phone just to authorize that I wanted that, then I got my iPhone.

Maybe the difference is that I'm the main person on my AT&T account, but I think that was just BAD customer service on the part of that Apple store.

Generally most of my problems stem from our plan. Our phone plan is old ATT and makes everything much, much more difficult. But I wouldn't say it's all Apple. Both Apple and ATT are limiting each other, causing hard times for everyone.

[phillyphill39]

yeah when i went into the apple store, the guy asked me if i had a fan number(corp discount) and i said yeah. he asked me to call up att to get it taken off. it wasn't a big deal cuz there wasn't a line and i was the only 1 at the time getting an iphone which was cool. i had 1 on order for df, but i decided to take my chances since i have 3 apple stores within 10 miles of me. so no im a happy owner of a 16g blk iphone and i only payed $260 :). Hope you get yours soon.

[epyonjk]

When I wen to get my I-phone yesterday they tried to sell it to me for full price but that is bull ****. They said to get it for the 299 price I had to buy the old I-phone when it first came out..so I come in the next day and I get a different employee to help me and I get the phone for 299. I dont understand how they get their information sometimes!